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JOHN Franklin KixEY 



memorial Jlddressd 



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25. 190 7 




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SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES ' 
MARCH 2. 1907 






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John Franklin Rixey 



(Late a Representative from Virginia' 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Fifty-ninth Congress 
Second Session 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Februory 25, 1907 



SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
Morch 2, 1907 



Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON : : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : : 1907 



t— (0(0^ 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Proceedings in the House "^*' 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Conrlen, I). I) ^ ^ 

Memorial addresses bv 

Mr. Jones, of Virginia 

Mr. Hay, of Virginia 

Mr. Williams, of Mi.ssissippi 

Mr. Flood, of Virginia 

Mr. Kitchin, of North Carolina '..... 

Mr. Glass, of Virginia 

Mr. Foss, of Illinois 

Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 

Mr. De Armond, of Missouri 

Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 

Proceedings in the Senate 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Daniel, of Virginia 

Mr. Hopkins, of Ilhnois ^2 

^Ir. Hemenway, of Indiana 55 

:\Ir. Carmack, of Tennessee 



II 
IS 
20 

23 

27 

31 
33 
35 

37 
43 
47 

51 



6S 



3 



Death of Representative John F. Rixey 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 

S-VTrKD-W, l-'hniayy y, i fj>oj . 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 

The following prayer was offered by the Chajilain, Rev. Henry 
N. Couden, D. D.: 

We come to Thee. O God, our Heavenly Father, praying for 
that light which never shown on sea or shore, but which illu- 
mines the mind, quickens the heart, and makes for righteous- 
ness in man, proving his Divine sonship and making the whole 
world akin; which dignifies the smallest duty, renders easy the 
hardest tasks, and leads on to heroism and glory when heroes 
are needed. 

Our hearts are profoundly moved this morning l)y the sudden 
death of one who for years in modesty and humility worked 
faithfully and well upon the floor of this Hou.se, rendering lo 
his country a service worthy to be recorded by the angels abo\e. 
We most fervently pray that his colleagues, his friends, and the 
dear ones of his heart may be comforted l)y tlie thought tint 
sometime .somewhere, they will be united to him where .sorrows 
never come. Hear us in the name of Chri.st, the Lord. Amen. 

Mr. Jones, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, it is with inexpress- 
ible sadness and unfeigned grief that I announce to the House 

5 



6 Mt-niorial .{(hirrssrs: John /-"ninldin Rixry 

the ik-atli (if ni\- collcai^uc, iIr- Hon. John I<". Ri.\i.;v, wliich 
occurred at the residence in this city of hislirother, the Surgeon- 
General of the Xavy, about 9 o'clock this niorninj^. At some 
future time I sliall ask the House to set apart a day that Mem- 
bers may have an opportunity to pay tribute to the personal 
virtues and ])ublic ser\ices of my colleague. 

I now send to the Clerk's desk and ask to liave read the 
resolutions which I otTer, and for wliich I ask immediate 
consideration. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has lieanl with ilce]) rej.,frfl and ])nif()ui)(l 
sorrow of the death of Hon. John I". kixiA, a R(.])rfseiitative from the 
State of X'irginia. 

Resolved, That a coiiiiuittee of seventeen .Menil)ers of the Hou.se, with 
such members of the vSenate as may be joined, may be appointed to attend 
the funeral at Culpeper, Va.. and that the necessary expenses attending 
the execution of this order be paid out of the contingent fund of the 
House. 

Resolved, That Iht- Sergeant-at-.\rms l)e authorized and directed to take 
such steps as may be necessary for ])roperly carrying out the ])rovisions 
of this resolution. 

Resolved, That tlie Clerk communicate the.se resolutions t<» llu- .Senate 
and transmit a copy to the family of the deceased. 

The tjuestion was taken; and the re.solutions were iniani- 
moush' agreed to. 

The Si'K.VKKk. The Chair announces tlie followin.i; com- 
mittee. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

.Mr. Jones, of Virginia, Mr. Hay, Mr. I^amb, .Mr. I'UhkI, Mr. Maynard, 
Mr. Cilass, Mr. Sleni]), Mr. Southall, Mr. Saunders, Mr. Foss, Mr. Meyer, 
Mr. Williatn W. Kilchin, Mr. Gregg, :\Ir. Williams, Mr. I)e .\rmond, Mr. 
Burton, ..f Ohio, and Mr. Slayden. 

Mr. JoNKS, of \'irginia. .Mi. .Speaker, as a fuitlu-i mark of 
respect to m\- deceased colleague, I moxe tliat llu- House do 
now adjourn. 

The Si'1-;.\kJ';k. Tending the motion, the Chair will annoiuice 



/*/■(>(< /•/////i^'S in till- /f(>ii\r J 

that tht^ ^eiitleinaii from Massacluist-tts, Mr. Li )\i-;KiNf;. will 
])rcsi(lc oxL-r the session ot the- House lo-inorro\v. 

The motion to adjourn was then agreed to. 

Accor<hn^l\- (at 12 o'chjck and iS minutes 1 the Ilou^e 
adjourned until Sundax- at 12 o'clock m. 

MOND.W, h'thnmry i r , /goj. 
A nie.ssage announced that the Senate had jxissed the follow- 
ing resolutions: 

Rcsolzid, That the .Senate ha.s heard with ikep seiisihilily the ainiouiice- 
iiient of the death of Hon. JoM.v I-'. RiXKV. late a Representative from the 
State of \'irjiinia. 

Risohi'i'd, That a committee of seven Senators be appointed by tlie Vice- 
Pre.sident to join the committee appointed on the part of the House of 
Repre-sentativesto take order for superintendinj^ the funeral of the deceased. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the 
House of Representatives. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memorv of the 
deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

And, in compliance with the foregoing, the \' ice- President 
had appointed as said connnittee Mr. Daniel, Mr. Taliaferro, 
Mr. Dick. Mr. Patterson, Mr. Ankeny, Mr. Flint, and Mr. 
Clarke, of Arkansas. 

Thursd.w, February //, /907. 

Mr. JoNKS, of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent for the present consideration of the following order, 
which I send to the Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Ordered, That when the House shall adjourn on vSundav, I-'ebruarv 24. 
it shall be to meet at 10 a. m. on Monday, February 25, and at the said 
session of Monday, the 25tii, eulojjies of the life, character, and public 
services of the Hon. John F. Rixf.v, late a Representative from Virjjinia, 
shall be in order until the hour of 12 in. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? [After a pause.] The 
Chair hears none. 



8 Mtniorial Addresses: Jo/ni F)-ii)ik/iii Kixiy 

MuNKAV. J't bruary 2^ . /'A-'/. 
The House met at lo o'clock a. m. 
Tile Clerk read the followiiii;: 

Sri:AKKK".s Room, Hoisk of Reprksentativks, 

]Vas/ii Hilton, P. C, February j-;, f9'^>7- 
I hereby designate Hon. Wii.i.iam A. JoNics, of \'irginia, as SjK-aktr 
l)ro tempore during this day. 

J. (t. Cannon, Sprakt'r. 

Mr. J().\'i-:.s of \'irgiiiia took the chair as vS])eaker pro tempore. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Henry X. Coiuleii, I). 1)., offered the 
hjllowin^- prayer: 

O Thou who hast made us after Thine own image and filled 
our breasts with longings, hopes, and aspirations which are 
ever leading us onward and upward to larger life, we thank 
Thee for the pure, the noble, the true, who in their conduct 
strive continually to measure up to the .standard of perfected 
manhood in Je.sus Christ. We tnank Thee for the ties of love 
and affection which bind us together, so that when one rejoices 
all rejoice, when one suffers all suffer witli him, and when 
one is taken from our midst in death, the heart is bowed in 
sorrow and we cherish the words he uttered, the things he did; 
above all the .service he freely gave to his fellow-men. 

"Whatsoever things are true, what.soe\-er things are honest, 
what.soever things are just, what.soever things are i)ure, what- 
soever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, 
if there be any virtue, and if there be any prai.se, think on the.se 
things." 

Bless, we beseech Thee, the .service of the hour and helj) us 
to cherish in our hearts the n)emor\- of liim for whom it is .set 
apart, that we c(jpy his virtues and live the larger life of which 
he was a consjMCUOus example in his home, in his connnunitx , 
and on the floor (jf this House, where he rendered faithful and 



Proi{-(<^iiii^s hi I he J Id use 9 

efficient service for his country. Comfort his family, liis friends 
and colleagues, and all who mourn his loss with the blessed 
assurance tlial lliouj^li lie nia\- not iLtuiii to us we shall go 
to him and dwell with him forever; and glory and honor and 
praise be Thine, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The vSpk.\kkk pro tempore. The gentleman from Illinois 
[Mr. Mann] will please take the chair. 

Mr. Mann took the chair as Speaker jmo tempore. 

Mr. Jones of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following 
resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

A'eso/z'6'c/, That a.s a mark of respect to the Hon. John I'. Ri.khv, late a 
Member of this House from the State of Virginia, and in pursuance of the 
order heretofore made, the business of the House be now suspended to 
enable his associates to pay fitting tribute to his high character and distin- 
guished services. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be, and he is herein', instructed to .send a copy 
of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

The resolutions were agreed to. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Virginia 

Mr. Speaker: When, on Saturday, a fortnight ago, the 
announcement of the death of my late colleague, the Hon. 
John F. Rixey, was made in this House, it came with .start- 
ling suddenness to most of us, for, although for many .sad and 
dreary months he had been suffering from a deadly malady, 
few outside of his immediate family and closest friends realized 
that the grim destroyer had long since marked him for his 
own. There was little in his appearance and bearing, and far 
less in the lightsome and energetic manner in which he met 
and so faithfully discharged the manifold duties of his high 
position, betokening the dread disease which even then was 
steadily and surely doing its deadly work. With high cour- 
age, patriotic purpose, and a rare devotion to the interests of 
the con.stituency which had so long delighted to honor him, he 
positively refused to quit his post of dut>- upon this floor, 
although repeatedly and earnestly admonished by his pliy.si- 
cians that to remain was to seriously endanger if not to sacrifice 
his life. Hence it was that many of his friends were shocked 
as well as grieved when it became known that almost immedi- 
ately upon the adjournment of Congress he had gone away in 
quest of health— first, to the mountains of North Carolina; 
then to Colorado, and, later still, to northern New York, in 
what proved a vain effort to stay the encroachments of a dis- 



II 



12 M())i(iriiil .l(i(h'tss(S: Jo/ni Fnmklin Rixcy 

ease which has ever baffled the physicians' skill, ami which no 
clinie, warmed i)y the sun's bright circle, can surely and per- 
manently eradicate. And so, despairin^r of recovery and re- 
siijned to a fate which he recognized to be inexorable, he 
quietly returned in the early winter season to the home in this 
city of his brother, Admiral Presley M. Rixey, the Surgeon- 
(leneral of the Xavy, there to await with submis.sive patience, 
sublime fortitude, and an inspiring Christian resignation the 
final summons to his eternal reward. It is not possible to re- 
call without a feeling of sadness that .since the beginning of 
the Fifty-ninth Congress "death's inexorable doom" has been 
pronounced against fifteen of our comrades, eleven of whom 
served in this Hou.se and four in the Senate Chamber; but 
never, I fain would believe, has the icy hand of the grim de- 
stroyer been laid upon a Member of this body who was more 
iniiver.sally resj^ected and esteemed and more generally beloved. 

So to-da}', amid the stern exactions of duty which invariably 
accompany and are inseparable from the closing hours of a ses- 
.sion of Congre.ss, we have suspended the work of legislation in 
order that opportunity may be given his colleagues to speak in 
words of praise and of eulogj' of Mr. Rixev's accomplishments 
and character, and to extol those personal virtues which adorned 
his noble and gracious life. 

John Franklin Rixey was born at the "Retreat," the 
family homestead, in the county of Culpeper, near the town of 
Culpeper, on the ist day of August, 1854. His father was 
Pre.sle\' M. Rixey, a prominent farmer and extensive landowner. 
His mother's maiden name was Mary F'rancis Jones. Pied- 
mont, \'a., early became the storm center in the war between 
the States, and thus it was that the father, the better to provide 
for the protection and safet>' (;f his family, purcha.sed a home 
in the town of Cul])e])er and removed lluiu thither. It was 



Address oj Mr. Jones, of / 'ir<^i/iia 13 

there that most of the jouth of John I'\ Rixkv was passed, and 
there he received his early educational training in the famous 
Berkeley School. Afterwards he attended Bethel Academy, 
near Warrenton, Va., for several sessions, and in the snnnner 
of 1876 he was ojraduated from the law school of the I'niversity 
of Virginia with the degree of bachelor of laws. He at once 
began the practice of his profession at Culpeper, and two years 
thereafter was elected attorney for the Connnonwealth for his 
county, a position the duties of which he continued to discharge 
\\\i\\ conspicuous fidelity for twelve consecutive years. In 1881 
he married Ellen Barbour, the daughter of the late lieutenant- 
governor, James Barbour, and a niece of the late John S. Bar- 
bour, United States Senator from Virginia. Subsequently he 
went to reside at "Beauregard," near Brandy Station, the beau- 
tiful country seat which continued thereafter to be his perma- 
nent residence up to the time of his death. When, in 1896, 
after a spirited contest, he received the Democratic nomination 
for Congress in the Eighth Congressional district, which was 
followed by a triumphant election, he had held no political office, 
and his personal acquaintance in .some of the counties compos- 
ing the district w^as quite limited. Subsequently each succes- 
sive nomination came to him without opposition, and although 
away from the State during the whole of the campaign of last 
year, he was returned to the Sixtieth Congress with an over- 
whelming majority. Prior to his active entrance upon his 
Congressional duties in December, 1897, Mr. RixEv a.ssidu- 
ously practiced his profession in Culpeper and the adjacent 
counties of Fauquier, Rappahannock, Madison, Orange, and 
Louisa, and in the Federal courts and the supreme court of 
appeals of \'irginia. Success .seemed assured from the very 
beginning of his professional career. At first he practiced 
alone, but later became associated with his brother-in-law, the 



14. MtniorinI . h/t/nssrs: JoJui /•'ra/ik/i?! Rixcy 

Hon. Jolin S. Hari)()iir, and it is l)cliL'\"e(l that tlic firm of 
Rixe\' vS: liarhour cnjo\c(l a i)ractict anion^ the nujst t.-xtcii- 
si\c and lucrative in the rural districts of the State. 

As a lawyer he was conspicuously successful, coming con- 
stantly in contact with nian\- of the brightest luminaries in a 
judicial circuit widely famed for the al)ilit\- and learning of its 
l^ractitioners at the bar. Among the illustrious lawyers witli 
whom he contested for primacy may be mentioned such eminent 
men as ex-Senator Eppa Hunton, Gen. William H. Payne, 
James \'. Brooke, and John Murra>- Forbes, of Fau(juier, 
Attorney-General James G. Field and Catlett Gibson, of Cul- 
])e]>er, and Governor James L. Kemper, of Madison, all of 
whom, save only the first, have now ])as.sed from the arena of 
life. That his forensic abilities and legal triumphs should 
have l)rought him into an en\-ia1)le jironiinence amid such an 
imposing array of legal talent is the highest tribute which 
could be paid to his professional standing and reputation. He 
was a well-grounded, well-trained, and thoroughlx e{|uii)ped 
lawyer, and ujion every proj^osition submitted to his judgment 
he ])rought to bear the well-di.sci})lined force of a matured 
intellect. His reasoning was forceful and logical, clear, strong, 
and con\incing. As an advocate he achieved success through 
the compelling force of an inexorable logic rather than b\- the 
em])loyment of the meretricious enibcllishmenls of speech and 
rhetorical display. He appealed to the reason rather than to 
the emotional seusibilities of judge and jury. That he was 
ever faithful to the noblest traditions of tlie profe.ssion wliich 
throughout his career he .so consi)icuously adorned, and the 
ethics of which he in\ariat)ly ob.served, is the unuersal testi- 
mony (jf all those with whom he practiced. 

I-Jut, descended as he was from a long line of jjractical planters, 
lie inherited a ])assioiiale fondness lor agriculture, w liicli Wash- 



. l(///rrss of Mr. Jones, of I 'iri^iiii(x i z^ 

ington, himself a juactical ai^riculturisl, dc-clarL-d to he llie 
noblest callinj^ of mankind. Lix-inj^- on a farm, to the direction 
of which he gave his close jjcrsonal attention, he was what is 
known in \'irginia as a coinitr>- lawyer in contradistinction t«j 
the cit>- attorney, who has ])een aptly described as more tech- 
nical and scientific though less philosophic, more astute, though 
less broad, than his countr>- l)rother. Mr. kixi;\- was in evi-ry 
high essential a typical farmer-lawyer. Nothing gave him 
more genuine pleasure than to ride or drive over his broad and 
fertile fields. Well do I recall with what delight he was wont 
to watch his herds of sleek, fat cattle as they roamed o\-er the 
grass-clad hills and through the rich river bottoms of his two 
magnificent Culpeper County farms. 

The late John Randolph Tucker, profound constitutional law- 
yer, brilliant orator, and great statesman though he was, pos- 
sessed an intimate accpiaintance with that character of lawyer 
who.se life was spent amid rustic .scenes and who breathed the 
pure atmosphere of an in.spiring and ennobling pastoral life. 
Standing in this Hall he pronounced upon one of my predeces- 
sors a strikingly beautiful eulog>-, in the cour.se of which he 
declared : 

I do not doubt that John Marshall, the most illustrious of the Chief 
Justices of the United States, under the cla.ssical shades of his counlr\- 
seat at Oak Hall, framed the inexorable logic of his argument in the case 
of Jonathan Robbins and constructed those canons ot interpretation in 
that series of marvelous judgments which laid the foundation ot his fame 
as the greatest expounder of our I'ederal Constitution. 

JoHX F. RiXKV was a farmer and stock raiser as well as a 
lawyer, and in both capacities he was preeminentl\- succe.ssftil. 

Of his career in this Hou.se I shall say little, for the character 
and the quality of his work done here is known to us all. At 
all times active and vigilant in the performance of his legislative 
duties, he was justly regarded as au ideal Representative, and I 



1 6 Memorial Addrrssrs: Joint Fraiik/iu Rixty 

\-ciiture nutliiiii; in sa\in,i; thai llic dislricl wiiicli honored him 
with six consecutive elections, and which in turn was by him 
so signally honored, never had a more efficient, more patriotic, 
more devoted, and more intelligent Representative. He met 
ever\' duty and faced every obstacle fearlessly, and ever fol- 
lowed where conscience and judgment led. He had few, if 
any, enemies, for his directness, frankness, and singleness of 
purpose so exalted his deeds and gave weight to his words as 
to compel admiration of the man as the exponent of high civic 
virtue. His judgment was sound and his view of a situation 
broad, while he po.s.sessed in high degree the comparatively rare 
power of grasping details. He loved his country with genuine 
patriotism and served it with unselfish devotion. No man whom 
I have known during a somewhat extended service in the House 
of Representatives was ever more assiduously attentive to the 
public needs of his district or more considerate of the wishes 
and well-being of his constituents. 

How natural, then, that he should have been b\- them .so 
implicitly trusted, .so highly esteemed, and .so so universally 
beloved! It was nothing le.ss than his stern, inflexible, and 
unyielding .sen.se of duty to country and obligation to con.stitu- 
ents which held him to his po.st of dut_\- in this Hall against the 
urgent .solicitations of faniil\- and friends, and when every con- 
sideration of a purel>- per.sonal character demanded he .should 
lay down for the time being his public burdens and official 
cares. And now he has gone hence forevermore. To no 
mortal has it ever been given to solve the mysteries of life and 
death, and .so to our blind vision and finite intelligences his 
untimely taking off may — nay, does — .seem premature, but 
there is a solace in the thought that Cod knoweth when llie 
appointed work is done: and so He gi\elh His beloxed sleep. 

vSureh' he has not li\-ed in xain whose lite has furnished to 



Address of Mr. fours, of I'in^iaia \-j 

tlK' world such a splendid example of fidelity to conscience and 
<k\<.ti.,n to duty. Reverencing always the thiiiK-s that are pure 
and iiohk. and of .cood rei)ute, e\-er exemplary in hahit, con- 
duct, and dei)ortnient, it was l)ut natural that he >h(juM have 
puhliclv and openly professed his faith in Christ 1)>- ccjunectiiiK 
himself with one of His churches; aiid hence it was that some 
years i)rior to his death he became a member of the Presby- 
terian Church. His whole life was sin-ularly be.iutiful and 
uprii;ht, his faith sublime, and his hope serene. 

Of the mere personal attributes of his character and of my 
clo.se personal and intimate relations to, and my warm and 
tender affection for, our dear friend I shall not trust myself 
further to speak, nor could I wish to intrude within the sacred 
precincts of his beautiful home life or lift the veil which hides 
the grief of the stricken wife and bereaved children. 

But recently- I stood beside his open grave and with .sorrow- 
ful heart and tearful eyes beheld the performance of the last 
sad rites over his funeral bier in a ))eautiful cemetery overlook- 
ing the town where had been spent the days of his earl\- >-outh 
and maturer manhood. 

As we contemplate, even faintl\- and imperfectl>- as mortals 
may, the immensity of the universe, the limitless reach and 
force of Almighty power, and the fathomless depth and gra- 
ciousne.ss of Almighty love, we may take leave of our friend 
in the fond hope and .soothing faith that somewhere, sometime, 
the frail and transitory ties of mortal affection broken now may 
be welded for eternit\-; that he has but gone before, while we 
linger here a little longer. 
H. Doc. 8 1 2, 59-2 2 



i8 Mt inoria/ .Idch't ssi s: John Franklin Rixcy 



Address of Mr. Hay, of Virginia 

Mr. Spkakkk: I first knew Juiix V . Rixicv in 1879. wheu 
he was Commonwealth's attorney for his county, and thereafter 
until he and I came to this House was thrown with him fre- 
quently. As a lawyer Mr. Rixi-:v ranked hit^h at the \'irginia 
])ar, and for many years was one of the leading members of 
the bar in his and adjoining counties. He was especially 
.strong as an advocate, besides being an advi-ser of sound judg- 
ment, possessing fully the confidence of his large clientage 
and his fellow-members of the bar. His relations with the 
bar were always pleasant, and while firm in advocating his 
own side of the case, he yet was ever ready to give to his 
adversary that courteous and considerate treatment which 
marks the able lawyer and gentleman. 

His course in Congress has been a most successful one. He 
has represented his constituency witli rare faithfulness and 
singlene.ss of purpose No man on this floor was ever more 
ready than he to respond to the many demands which are 
constantly made upon Members here. His public services, 
while not showy, were well recognized by his people and by 
those wh<j .served with him here. His death was most 
untimely. Taken fnjiii a sphere of action in wliich liis use- 
fulness was conspicuous, cut ofl when his powers were ripest, 
those of us who survi\-e him wonder at tlie in.scrutable decrees 
of Providence. 

T}i<)' imuli is lakfii, imii-h abides. 

While \\e deeply regret the loss of his presence, liis useful- 
ness in this place, his clear judgment, yet there remain to us 



Addnss of Air. I lay, of rin^^inia. 19 

the example of his clean life, liis upriglit character, his f(jrce- 
ful personality. He was indeed a modest ijentleman, one of 
those spirits whose livinj,^ made the world better, who in all 
of his life exemplified the true man, whose purjioses were "to 
strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield," those great ]>rinci- 
ples which elevate mankind and lead to a higher and better 
life. 



20 Mi»toyial . h/t/rcsscs: John /-^rafikiiii K/xcy 



Address of Mr. Wiluams, of Mississippi 

Mr. Spkakkk: Old X'irgiiiia, more tiV(|Uciill\-, i)erliaj)s, than 
aii\- other part of the world, has produced a class of men who 
have displayed in private and in public life the best characteris- 
tics of the old English country gentleman combined with distiuc- 
ti\-e American traits — sturdiness, consen-atism, comnuni sense, 
anil unobtrusixe courage in conduct and opinion; acknowledg- 
ing " duty," as Washington and Lee did, to be not onl\ " the 
noblest word in the English language," but the guiding star of 
their course in life; acknowledging consideration of the opin- 
ions and enviromnent of others as the basis of all healthv and 
pleasant social relations; regarding the family as the ke>stone 
of the structure of human virtue, and looking upon the denial 
of law-conferred or law-permitted special privileges as the chief 
function of government, while leaving men otherwise free in 
their pursuits, industries, and development. 

vSuch men are never .sensationalists, though unwaveringly 
intolerant of private or public wrong. Such men attribute, as 
a habit of thought, hone.st motives to others; are in the habit 
of restraining and governing tliem.selves. and ])elieve therefore 
in the capacity and right of self-government as inherent in 
others; are .sticklers for the limitation of the powers of political 
goverinnent so as to forestall and prevent the tyranny of majori- 
ties and .so as to secure the right of indixidual and local e\-olu- 
tionary progress in freedom, unrestrained excej)t in so far as is 
necessary to prevent one man or one conununity or one nation 
from connnitting aggre.s.sion on another. In the family, as in 
society, they are charilabk- in nom-ssentials, while inculcating 



Address oj Mr. ll'i/liaius^ o/' M/ss/ssippi 21 

essentials of character and outj^rowin^ conduct more hy example 
than by precept, leavinv^ much to the child's enlijijhtened sense 
of duty and indix-idual dc-x-elopuK-nl, not attempting to mold 
other human l)L-in.i;s in llicir nioM, l)clic'\in^- that wife and cliild, 
like each of God's creatures, has the supreme ri^ht to live its 
own life in an atmosphere of j^nidin^ and ji^uardini; lo\'e. 

Such men, ])ein!L;- just and kind, firm of jjurpose and conduct 
as well as tolerant and considerate, moderate in all things, not 
extreme, self- restrained, not self-assertive, deserve and are sure 
to have loving and faithful wives, trustful and confiding chil- 
dren, loyal friends, willing servants, few enemies, and the sin- 
cere respect of all men. People attach themselves to them 
without analyzing the motives of their attachment and with or 
without intimacy of association. Men tru.st them; children 
love them; employees serve them "for more than the mere 
wages' sake." The whole structure of .society can rest upon 
their strong .shoulders as on a .secure ba.se. 

Just such a man, to my personal knowledge, was John ¥. 
RixEV, if his character be limned by an analy.st and not a 
eulogist, though in his ca.se I am l)oth. If all men were like 
him and his cla.ss, the dream of the theoretical anarchist might 
come true, becau.se there would be little or no need of the phys- 
ical force of political government. The individual life of each 
would, in combination, consunnnate the highest good of all. 
Ju.stice, ecpiality, and frtedom — the sole objects of all right 
government — would ])revail as a natural ami unforced out- 
growth of the unrestrained development of individuality. 

Mr. vSpeaker, words are poor things; like ourselves, a breath, 
and with a breath are gone. They can not restore the dead 
friend to a u.seful, noble, and unselfish life. The\- can nor com- 
fort the wife, who ju.stly idolized him. 

I wi.sh to God thev could. 



22 Meviorial Addresses: John Fiank/in Rixey 

They can m)l console the children, who will miss his loVe, 
example, and guidance. They can serve only to convey to 
those who loved him my abiding personal knowledge and appre- 
ciation of the courtesy, kindness, intelligence, moral courage, 
honesty, and public usefulness of the Virginia gentleman, who 
has gone before us and yet has not ceased to be with us. 



Address of Mr. Flood, of I 'irgiuia 23 



Address of Mr. Flood, qy Virginia 

Mr. vSi'ivAKiCK: " TIk- j()>s of (.oiuiiKNl iiiL- Oi"-* joys of 



man. 



There could lie 110 tniL-r inlcrprclalion ot" uni\-ersal life and 
conii)onnd of universal history than this aphorism of the poet. 
Man read.s it one way during life'.s .stress and .strain; another 
way at life's close. There are two arenas of conquest — the 
one, objective; the other, subjective. The one has ambition 
for its inspiration and guide; the other, wisdom. The one is 
the conquest of the world and all it implies; the other, the 
conquest of self. The one passeth away and is forgotten as a 
dream; the other is indestructible. 

One conquest is of the head; the other of the heart. And 
almo.st the last lesson mo.st of us learn is that the heart is 
higher and nobler than the head; that the heart alone can 
really interpret life; that it alone can cheri.sh its own intima- 
tions and soar with them to the heaven of their fulfillment. 
We do not erect moiunnents in our hearts to those who 
are "great like Caesar, stained with blood, but to those who 
were only great as they were good." 

The world is expending trea.sure in disentombing the memo- 
rials of dead and buried empires and deciphering the hiero- 
glyphics in which they are recorded, but the records of a good 
man's life are writ in letters so plain and imperishable that 
"he who rims may read." 

John K. Rixkv was l)orn in Culpeper County. Va., on 
August I, 1854, and reared in the country. 

The old Greeks, who seemed to know everything and to 
anticipate everything, called the earth our mother. Our 



24 Mt))i(>n'a! .h/t/rrssrs: Jolni Fiuriik/iii /\ixiy 

brother, wliosc iiK-inorN- \\c arc inc-l to enshrine in our hearts, 
ilrank deep of the jj^entle and salutary monitions of nature. 
He loved to contemplate the symbolism of life in the shifting 
panorama of the seasons, the unfolding of nascent manhood 
which liad its type in the awakened x'igor of spring;, the stress 
of life as pictured by the heat and glare of the storms of sum- 
mer, the fruits of a well-fought fight symbolized in the 
golden grain and fruitage of autumn, and the repose typified 
l)y the long niglits and manteling snows of winter. As we 
read the short and simple annals of his life in the "Official 
Director)"" we see how the love of country dominated him. 
He writes himself down as "lawyer and farmer." 

In tlue course he was sent to the connnon schools of his 
neighborhood, where he was subjected to their discipline and 
training, and then came the larger outlook and curriculum of 
Bethel Academy, and last, the strenuous and exigent labors of 
an academical and professional course at the University of 
\'irginia. 

Thus equipped he entered the legal profession and began its 
practice in his native county. His industry, honesty, learning, 
and sound judgment soon brought him a lucrative practice, 
which he conducted activel>' until he was elected to Congress. 
During this period he was three times elected pro.secuting attor- 
ney of Culpeper County, serving with distinguished al)ilit\" in 
this responsible position for twelve years. 

As a lawyer he ranked high among the i)eoi)le and bar of 
iK^rthern \'irginia, a .secticjn which lias ever been distinguished 
for its great lawyers. In 1S96 he was elected to Congre.ss. and 
such was the e.steem entertained for him b>- the ]ieople of his 
district that he was reelected five times with practicall\- no 
opposition. 

In his ])olitical ideas and methods lie has sometimes been 



Address <>/' A/r. l-loixi, of \'lr[^inia 2«5 

called a partisan. ll" ))>■ this was iiicaul that he sincerely an<l 
honestlx believed in the principles and jjiirposes of his party 
and tried !)>• all honorable means to promote the ])nl)lic j^ood 1j\- 
placin^^ its men and measures in control of the Government, the 
accusation was tnie, and the term was sim])ly a just tril»nie to 
a true and honest man. 

It has been the partisan who in all a^es of the world and 
every field of human progress has led the way. Wherever con- 
flicts of opinion have determined the thoughts and actions of 
mankind, there the well-equipped parti.san has been the guiding 
jwwer and controlling force for good. 

During the time he was a Member of the House of Represen- 
tatives Mr. RixKv .stamped his views and personality upon .some 
of the most important legislation enacted by the American 
Congress. For nearl_\- nine years he was a member of the 
Committee on Naval Affairs and aided in some of the most 
radical and u.seful reforms in the history of the country, and 
was no less u.seful in calling attention to and j^reventing some 
of the worst abuses that threatened the nation. 

Such, in brief outline, are the unadorned facts of the career 
of John F. Rixey. They illustrate a character rounded, 
integral and complete, and such a character always enlists our 
interests and challenges our analysis. 

Xo man ever achieved what he achieved unle.ss he had rich 
native endowments. You can not develop a negative nature. 
You can not train faculties which do not exist. 

Shakespeare, in describing his hero Brutus, .says: 

Hi.s life was gentle; and the elenient.s 

So niix'd m him, that Nature might stand up, 

And say to all the world, "Tins was a man!" 

And we all know that the fiber of gentleness always enters 
into the texture of ideal manhood. 



26 .\finioriaI .lihinssis: Jolni Fratikli)! Rixcy 

Mr. RixKV was a modest, c()ini)aiii()iia])lc, inj^cnious, friendly 
man. 

Xo man can pass half a century of life, whose maturity is 
tested by the keen .scrutiny of le.ijal and parliamentry environ- 
ments, and sustain that scrutin\- um-ebukL'd and unchallenged, 
who does not have the roots of his nature struck dee]) nito the 
granite subsoil of conviction. Just as no oak can fling its 
branches broadcast to wrestle with the storms whose nutriment 
is not drawn from the limestone and iron of the earth. 

Mr. RixKv was trained in the au.stere and inflexible doctrines 
of the Presbyterian Church. He .sat under the mini.stry of a 
church whose clerg}' are compelled to sustain the rigid and 
protracted tests of both academic and theological in.stitutes; a 
church which has never shrunk from facing the conception of 
truth whether that truth were pleasant or unjialatable. But 
the fabric of his faith was gentleness and brotherly kindness. 

When a man has attained to the po.ssession of these attributes 
he has, indeed, experienced the highest "joys of conquest." 

I have often read with plea.sure this passage from Lord Bacon: 

The poet saith excellently well: "It i.s a pleasure to stand upon the 
shore and to .see .ships to.ssed upon the .sea; a pleasure to stand in the win- 
dow of a castle and to see a battle and the adventures thereof below; but no 
pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth, 
where the air is always clear and serene, and to see the errors and wander- 
ings and nii.sts and tempests in the vale below. Certainly it is heaven 
upon earth to have a man's mind move in charity, rest in Providence, and 
turn upon the poles of truth." 

And .so we .see how the life of John 1*". RixHV, turning upon 
these poles, made him true in all the relations of life. And we 
can safely leave him there. 

May it be said of all of tis, as we can .say it of him: 

He wijre the white flower of a blameless life. 



Address of Mr. Kitchiu, of North ( arolitia 27 



Address of Mr. William W. Kitchin, of North Carolina 

Mr. Speaker: I desire to add the simple tribute of a hi^li 
regard and a warm personal friendship t(i the memory of the 
late Hon. John F. Rixey. If lenj^th of life under the guid- 
ance of Providence were always commensurate witli one's vir- 
tues, he would have survived more tlian threescore years and 
ten. If life is to be measured by virtue, by the development 
of the lovable and noble qualities of heart and mind and by 
obedience to their suggestions, then his life was long and full, 
though his departure was in middle age, or manhood's prime, 
as we reckon our periods. 

Entering Congress together ten years ago, for the last eight 
years serving together on the Committee on Naval Affairs, of 
which he was a member before my assignment to it, sharing 
the same views upon nearly every question that has divided 
that committee, we became closely associated in our public 
service, more closely than I have been with any other Repre- 
sentative. Probably no Member had better opportunity of 
knowing his arduous work and patriotic zeal than myself. In 
my judgment, and I say it deliberately and after consideration, 
no man during my membership of this body has brought to the 
service of his country a more thorough patriotism, more unself- 
ish loyalty to public interest, or a more incorruptible integrity, 
nor has anyone followed the path of duty as he saw it more 
unfalteringly and courageou.sly than our deceased friend. He 
was a type of the splendid Representative: of strong heart, 
brave spirit, clear intellect; a man of conscience, courage, and 
ability; modest but alert, unassuming but energetic, tolerant 
but positive. 



28 MiDiorial Adih-csscs: JoJni Fra/ikli>i Kixev 

Ai)ilit\- is an cssL-ntial of L-\L-r\- ^rcat l\ci)ix-sc'iUati\-c, hut in- 
tegrity is the great essential of tin.- best Representative. In 
this age of seductive alhircinents, under which men sometimes 
become negligent of pul)hc interests, and of strong temptations, 
undL-r whicli thtr\- some-times become unfaitliful, a pe()i)le should 
be regardetl as happily performin>; their duty to themselves 
and the Republic in sending to a legislative body a Representa- 
tive of lx)th the capacity and the character of Mr. RixKV. 
For many years he held the commission of a great, proud, and 
intelligent constituency residing within the shadow of this 
Capitol, and as that commission fell from liis hands on the 
9th of February it was as unstained as the sjiotless snow that 
then enveloped his district. 

There has been no .session of recent Congresses when divi- 
sions have not appeared on this floor upon matters coming from 
the Naval Affairs Committee. These divisions have not been 
upon propositions vital to the Navy. It is both Democratic and 
Republican to have a strong Navy of the best men and best 
material sufficient for the needs of our great country. Men in 
both parties have differed and will probably continue to differ 
as to the requisite magnitude of the Navy from time to time, 
depending largely upon each one's estimate of the probabilities 
of war and his confidence in our position ami resources, all rec- 
ognizing the necessity for the i)ublic of a proper Navy and the 
inju.stice upon the public of an unnece.s.sarily large one. The 
divi.sions have been upon subsidiary matters, such as the num- 
ber and kinds of new ships, how to obtain them, at what price, 
and how to < btain armor and armament, the eslal)lishment and 
improvement of navy-yards and stations, methods of economy 
and development, and other matters of .secondary importance to 
the primary propo.sition of the creation and maintenance of a 
sufTicieiU Xa\-y. Though these subsidiar\- matters ha\-e some- 



.l</t/rr.\s (>/ Mr. KiUliiii^ of Xortli Carolina 29 

limes iiUDlvcd political principles and anmsctl partisan discus- 
sion, yel, as a rule, the divisions upon matters from the Naval 
Committee ha\e not been partisan. The)- ha\e, however, pro- 
duced much controversy and frequent debates. In these Mr. 
RiXEY was often a leading participant and always proved him- 
self well equipped, accurate, ready, forceful, and entirel>- con- 
versant with the subject at issue. He was an active, vigilant, 
vigorous, and candid antagonist, who never avoided the real 
ix)int at stake and never struck below the belt. 

His personal life was clean and his language pure. I never 
heard a profane or vulgar expression from his lips and ne\er 
knew him to do an act his pastor would not have approved. 
Immorality and vice received no encouragement from his .speech 
or conduct. By precept and example he contributed to the vir- 
tue and morality of every circle he entered. I never knew him 
until the maturity of his powers and character, ])Ut a knowledge 
of him then necessarily involves much insight into his earlier 
3'ears. When one beholds a great oak he knows the rich ingre- 
dients that made it, in what soil the roots were nourished in its 
youth, what storms it has resisted, and what winters of adversity 
it has endured. From our deceased friend's strong, fixed char- 
acter of manhood one can easily conceive the healthy environ- 
ment of his boyhood, the various temptations that had in vain 
beat about his pathway, the steady application of his mind and 
heart to the duties of life, and the firm, fundamental, moral 
character that had controlled him in his constant progress in 
the esteem of his fellow-men. 

I had the honor to be one of the conmiittee of the House that 
attended the burial at Culpeper. In the funeral procession we 
observed that all of the business houses were closed out of re- 
spect for the occasion. A profound sorrow was over the little 
city. Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, the snow 



3© M,»t<>n\j/ .!(/(//■( sscs: Joint Franklin Rixcy 

coveriug the earth, a hirt;e concourse of hiscoiistitueiits, friends, 
and neighbors gathered in the cemetery to pay a last sad Irilnilc 
to his mortal remains. The great outpouring of the people 
from far and near, who knew him well, besj^oke the high esteem 
in which all classes held him. Among them lie had lived with- 
out reproach. Before them he had established a right to the 
high title of a Christian gentleman, and those who a.ssembled at 
his grave in loving remembrance of his life and character hon- 
ored themselves in the service they rendered to his memory. 
And they .seemed to realize, as we do, that liis death is a loss to 
his State and to our common country. 

Mr. Speaker, the kind expressions which we utter to-day in 
his memory are necessarily incomplete, for words are inadequate 
to express what the heart contains when we contemplate the 
death of such a man. In addition to the man\- ])leasant recol- 
lections which I shall always cherish of him, 1 .shall have the 
comforting thought that it is well with him. Knowing him 
as I did, I am glad to think that as the remorseless enemy 
approached he had no fear and his faith was strong, and when 
that enemy conquered his body and lead his spirit to the 
dividing line, I doubt not that the " Friend that .sticketh closer 
than a brother" was with him in the valley of the shadow and 
bestowed upon him the crown of immortalit\- on the other side. 



Address of My. (ilass.^ of I 'iri^i)ua 31 



Address of Mr. Glass, of Virginia 

Mr. Speakp:k: As a surviving colleague of the late John F. 
RiXEv, I desire, in a word, to indicate how tenderl}' I regard his 
memory. In niN- humble estimation no Representative in Con- 
gress better deserved, when he died, the kin(ll\- tril)utes to his 
personal worth which we are accu.stomed to pay here than the 
deceased Member from the Eighth Virginia district. Mr. RixRY 
was a man of solid character and superior intelligence. He had 
good preparation for the active pursuit of public affairs, which 
.so soon engaged his attention, and his exceptional talents made 
it certain that his aspirations must enjoy a large measure of ful- 
fillment. His early obligations as a trusted official of the vState 
were discharged with such efficiency and fidelity as to merit the 
higher distinction that was bestowed upon him by his connnu- 
nity when he was .sent to be a Member of this House; and I am 
sure we will all agree that his service here, extending over a 
period of ten years, was characterized by a devotion and an 
industry that entitled him to the confidence and esteem with 
which his people so richly and so repeatedl>' honored him. 
His particular usefulness to his own district and his cheerful 
readiness to serve his own constituents quickly expanded 
into an ideal repre.sentative relation to his State and country, 
so that all Virginia mourns his death as a distinct bereave- 
ment of the Commonwealth, and the nation has cause to 
lament the loss of a diligent and patriotic servant. 

Sprung from a good ancestry and reared in an atmosphere of 
refinement, nobody better understood, and no life was more 
surely conformed to, that philosophy which teaches that the 
well-being of the .soul depends only on what we are and that 



32 Mt))iorial .Iddrcssfs: John I-^ranklin Rixry 

nobleness of cliaracter is iiolliini; else but the love of j^^ood and 
scorn of evil. I'aniiliar with the niceties of social interconrse, 
and not insensible to the valne of real tact, nevertheless the per- 
sonal and official transactions of Mr. RiXEv were distingui.shed 
by a frankness that knew no concealment and a courage that cal- 
culated not con.setiuences. Thoui^h singularh' unol)tnisi\-e by 
nature, he never evaded a (lut>- nor .sought to .shift a responsi- 
bility Tolerant of opposing opinions, he was firm and forceful 
in the a.s.sertions of his own convictions, and yielded only 
when it .seemed best for his countr>- that he should. His fine 
(jualities of un.selfi.shness and his complete zeal for tlie ])ublic 
interest as he conceived it were remarkablN' exhibited in his 
long service on the Committee on Naval Affairs of this House. 
M\- intimacy witli Mr. Rixicv did not extend to his fireside. 
That was my misfortune and no fault of his hospitalit\'; but 
there is no need to draw aside the curtain and peer into the 
sanctity of the saddened home to tell that he was a devoted 
.son. a gentle hu.sband, an affectionate father, a lo^'al brother. 
He nnist have been the.se to have been so modest a gentleman, 
.so true a friend, so brave a man, .so patriotic a representative 
of his people. 



Address of Mr. Foss, of Illinois T)^ 



Address of Mr. Foss, of Illinois 

Mr. Speakkr: I desire to add my tribute to that of others 
on the Hfe of our late colleague. 

Singularly enough, while the naval appropriation bill was 
under consideration in the House, Mr. Ri.xKV, who had always 
been a member of the committee during liis Congressional 
.service, died. He had always been one of the active members 
of the committee and had taken a great interest in naval 
affairs, both in the connnittee and in the debates on the floor of 
the House. 

This is the first death that has occurred on the committee for 
.some time, the last being that of the late Amos J. Cummings, 
five years ago. Mr. Rixev was a man who was intensely 
loyal to his constituents. He ser\-ed them day and night, and 
the many large public improvements which he secured for his 
di.strict are a testimonial of his indefatigable indu.str\- and 
loyalty to his constituents. 

Mr. RixEY was a conservative man. He was not easily 
carried away by the whim or fancy of the hour. His whole 
nature was embedded in the .solid rock of conservatism. He 
would oftentimes >stand alone, unmoved by the persuasions of 
his colleagues and friends. 

Above all, he was a man who had the courage of his con- 
victions. If there is any one characteristic that has .shone 
through his Congre.ssional service here in this body it was that 
of his splendid courage. He not onl>- dared to think for him- 
.self, but he dared to fight for what he ])elieved to be right. 
Frequently upon this floor he led the charge against some 
provision in the naval bill which he did not feel that he could 

H. Doc. 812, 59-2 3 



34 Mr Dior ia I Addnsscs: Joint Fra?ik/iii A'/.vcy 

support, and whenever he led he led with all the splendid fire 
and determination of a >;eneral on the field of battle. 

He was a man also of intense honesty of purpose and sin- 
cerity. He was one whom it took some time to thoroughly 
know. Though a man of pleasant demeanor and easy to 
approach, \et he was not a man who showed up his real worth 
on first acquaintance. He was fre(piently misunderstood, Init 
ujion intimate acquaintance he unfolded a wealth of .sterling 
virtues which commanded the respect and admiration of all 

within the circle. 

His death has l)een a great loss to this Hou.se. His Con- 
gressional service has been an honor to the vState and the 
nation, and his memory will be cherished through the coming 
years. 



Address of Mr. McCa/l^ of Massachusetts 35 



Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 

Mr. Speaker : I feel it my duly to add one word expressing, 
I fear very inadequate!}', the hi.^h opinion that T had of our 
late colleague John F. Rixev. I am led to do this from my 
personal regard for him and from the rc-lations of the vStates of 
Massachusetts and \'irginia, and also from m>- association with 
Virginia Representatives upon this floor. These two noble 
Connnonwealths have been associated together .since before the 
foundation of this Government, and, with the exception of an 
unfortunate period which was necessary fully to establish our 
Government, they have emulated each other in everything that 
has contributed to our national glory. And I tru.st and believe 
they will continue to engage in that noble rivalry. 

Then, I have been very closely a.ssociated with the Repre- 
sentatives of Virginia upon this floor. During my first term 
of service it was my privilege to be upon the Committee on 
Elections, of which that astute and able lawyer, that kindly 
gentleman, and that fair-minded man, Governor O'Ferrall, was 
the chairman. Afterwards for man}' years I was as.sociated in 
service upon the Committee on Ways and Means with the dis- 
tinguished gentleman who is now governor of the Common- 
wealth of Virginia. And I am proud to say that I number 
among my friends many who have been or now are members of 
the able delegation from Virginia. 

And .so I feel that I should .saj- one word here concerning 
that faithful and sterling Representative in whose memory' 
this service is held. It adds .something to our regard for 
representative government that a man like JOHX F. Rixey 
should be sent here — a kindly man, an able man, a man who 



36 Mi'worial Addrcssrs: JoJni Franklin Rixey 

combined the energy and force of an intclkclnal fij^hter with 
the nrbanity of a gentleman. It wonld be creditable to any 
constituency in tliis countr\- that it should send such a man 
here. And so. Mr. vSpeaker, I desire to say sim})ly tliat I 
had a \ery high regard for liim ]icr.sonally. I have watched 
him upon tliis lloor, I lia\x- marked the force with wliicli he 
spoke, and I luive noticed his modesty and lack of all 
obtrusiveness. But modest though he may have been, we 
had no difficulty in detecting in him the e.s.sence of true 
manhood and that living spark of which Wordsworth speaks 
when he says : 

If thou indeed derive thy light from heaven, 

Then, to the measure of that heaven-born Hght, 

vShine, Poet, in thy place, and be content. 

The stars preeminent in magnitude. 

And they that from the zenith dart their beams 

(Visible though they be to half the earth, ' 

Though half a sphere be conscious of their brightness), 

Are yet of no diviner origin, 

Xo purer es.sence, than the one that burns, 

Like an untended watch fire, on the ridge 

Of some dark mountain ; or than those which seem 

Humbly to hang, like twinkling winter lamps. 

Among the branches of the leafless trees. 



^■Iddnss of M)\ l)c Aruunid^ of Missouri 37 



Address of Mr. De Armond of Missouri 

Mr. Speaker: When Juiix Fkanki.in Rixkv died the Re- 
public lost a faithful servant, \"irginia lost one of her noblest 
citizens, all of us who were acquaiiUed with him lost a true and 
reliable friend, and his family suffered a loss which words can 
not describe. 

Since I have been a Member of this House death has been 
bus3' in the Virginia delegation. Out of it have died Barbour 
and Lee, Epes, Otey, Wise, and Rixey— one from the vSenate 
and five from the House. 

Shortly after the termination of their membership in this body 
six others with whom I served pa.ssed over the Great Divide — 
Lawson, Edmonds, Meredith, Turner, Walker, and O'Ferrall. 
So in the period of a little less than eight Congresses twelve 
Members from Virginia have died, six of them out of active 
service in the Congress and six lately retired from it. I believe 
this mortality in the Congressional representation of the Old 
Dominion is perhaps uinnatched in the history of the Govern- 
ment. 

John F. Rixev was a man, as those of us who were ac- 
quainted with him well know, of the very highest type and of 
the noble-st characteristics. He was modest, gentle, resolute, 
conscientious. He possessed the substantial abilities so nec- 
essary for a successful career here and elsewhere, and they 
were a.ssociated with a mode.st>- truly charming and a courage 
entirely unol)trusive, but equal to the requirements of any occa- 
sion. He came of a fine line of ancestry, out of the citizenship 
of a fine old Commonwealth where character and manhood, and 



38 Mc))iorial Addresses: Jo/ni l-^ya>ikli)i Rixey 

the .sturcl\- as well as the gentle \-irtues thai characterize both, 
are estimated and appraised quite as liij^hly, certaiiih-, as any- 
where else in the Union or in the world. 

It seems to us, measurin*^ human life as it is ordinarily 
measured, that he died ])rematurely and in his prime; but who 
knows when the ri,L;ht liiuc to die has arrived or when it will 
arrive? Who knows whether it is not really better to fall in 
the prime and meridian of life, when those who esteem us 
remember us as we are at our best, than to fade and finally sink 
to rest in its evening, when the shadows are long drawn and 
when almost everything that makes life attracti\-e and marks 
for us its achievements has long since ended? Old age often 
is weakness without its winsomeness; it is childhood without 
the charm of childhood. The memory dwells upon those who 
have departed as we knew them just before the end, the time 
of their departure. Mr. RiXKV will dwell in our memories and 
the memories of others who knew him as a man fully equipped 
and .strong and ready for the battle of life; a man full of 
achievements in the contest. Perhaps, after all, when the 
shock is over and when grief has adjusted itself to the blow, 
and when time has effaced or dimmed the traces of the great 
sorrow that death always must bring — perhaps, after all, it is 
better that he .shall dwell in our memories and in the memories 
of his own dearly loved ones as a man in his ])rime anil in his 
glory, rather than as the fading, vanishing renniant of a life 
pa.st its usefulness and its power and lingering only, waiting 
only for the inevitable summons that comes in weakness and 
closes in the night when the stars have l)Urne(l out. when noth- 
ing remains to illumine the .sky with a .suggestion of the halted 
l)ower of manhood. The .star that is blotted .suddenly from the 
sky leaves in the memory of him who gazed u])on it in ii> 
.splendor a picture of a magnificent light, but the star that 



Address of Mr. Dc Arnioiid, of Missouri 39 

pales and i)alcs and pak-s and linally llickcrs (nil can leave n(j 
memory so well worth cherishini^. 

Representative Rixkv was an excellent type of what has been 
known and described as the "country lawyer." The comitry 
lawyer still exists and will exist in our laud for many days, 
and, let us hope, many ages, Imt not so numerously in the 
comparison as in the former time. 

In the early days of the Republic all our lawyers, with but 
few exceptions, were country lawyers, bred in the country, liv- 
ing in the country, identified with the country, following the 
pursuits of the countryman. We have arrived now at the stage 
of progress or development, or at least of advancing population, 
when, in large measure, professional men are gathered together 
in cities. The professional man of the city is essentially dif- 
ferent from the profes.sional man of the country. He is more 
familiar with books, he is further along in scientific pursuits 
and developments, but he also is farther from nature. In a 
broad sense he knows less of men and their wants and rights 
and feelings and aspirations. The country lawyer, if he be a 
man of ability and of character — and if he be not he can not 
succeed — comes to live in close touch and in full understand- 
ing with the people among whom he dwells. Their wants are 
liis wants; their aspirations are his aspirations; their triumphs 
are his triumphs; their .sorrows and their struggles are his .sor- 
rows and his struggles; their life is his life. He communes 
with nature more and with books less. He learns more of gen- 
eral principles and le.ss of special ca.ses and special instances. 
He devotes himself more to broad thought and broad reasoning 
and broad philosophic principles, and less to what this man or 
that man, in this positioner that position, here or there, now or 
at .some other time, .said upon .some question. He does not look 
particularl}- for .some ca.se that is in point, but he digs deep for 



40 Aftinon'dl .hidrrsscs: Jo/m FriDikliii Rixcv 

fundaiiit'iital i)rincipk-s: he U)()k:s far into the philosoph)- of 
things and thence deduces his conclusions; and upon this foun- 
dation, out of the materials thus gathered, he rears his super- 
structure strong and synunetrical and. a1)ove all things else, 
natural. This man of \\iu)m I now sjieak dwelt in the country, 
and was of the country. A member of the learned profession 
and learned in it. he was a practical farmer, interested in all 
that concerns the people engaged in the tillage of the soil and 
in the care of their flocks and herds. He was therefore, by 
natural development, a broad man in iliought, purpose, and 
deed; a charitable man; in action, a plain, practical man. He 
looked at things about him with the clear e\'e of experience. 
He read the book of nature as it was spread out before him, 
and there learned les.sons far more valuable than man has traced 
in any book man has written or will ever write. 

It seems .strange, in this day of progress and advancement in 
science and in discover3% that there are still some diseases so 
formidable, .so deadly, .so all-pervading, .so unconqueral^le that 
the strongest go down before them as readil\- as the weakest. 
One of the most formidable of all di.seases is the "white death." 
the plague of consumption, to which our friend fell a victim. 
In all the charities of philanthropy, in all the .schemes of benev- 
olent purposes, he will ])e among the greatest of benefactors 
who .shall discover the cau.se of and the sure cure for this deadly 
disease, which strikes down manhood in its prime, which spares 
neither age nor youth, which devastates the earth, and marches 
uncon(iuered through the ages. Let us hojie that human science, 
and i)erseverance, and research may bring us something that 
will stay the ravages of this fell destroyer. 

Never uprm one of these occasions, or ujion any occasion 
where we face death, can we rid ourselves — nor would we if 
we could — of the dre.adful charm, of the fateful ni\slei\ , that 



Address of Mi-. /)r .} r»i(>>i(/, of Missouri .\i 

ever haiiijs around liuinan life. W'c come into the world with- 
out our own \()lition; we <^() out when, how, where, none — no 
niort.' the wis<,'St than tlie most foolish — can tell. W'c arc here 
for a little while or for a comparatively long period, and yet 
how short is even the longest life when contrasted with the 
cycles of time and with the endless ages of eternal being. Life 
is a great mystery, a mystery all through, a mystery in every 
part — in its inception, in its progress, in its ending. 

As we gaze into the grave where loved ones are laid, mind, 
spirit, imagination, hope fly far beyond the tomb, into pictured 
realms we know not where, b>' means we know not what. So 
it was when we laid our friend away to rest. So it was when 
we stood around his open grave in the snow-covered ground 
of the beautiful cemeter}' where he now repo.ses. vSo it is now, 
.so it will be when we in our turn are laid away to rest in 
mother earth, and so it will be most assuredly until the career 
of humanity is ended and man no longer is a pilgrim going 
up and dowai over the surface of this planet. People reason 
about it, consult others about it, indulge in predictions about 
it, .search Holj- Writ concerning it. Yet all of it is mystery. 
Only the eye of faith can pierce the di.stant future. Onl}' ui)on 
the wings of hope can we traverse the space which intervenes 
between this life and the life beyond. Every man's hope, 
every man's a.spiration, everj- pulsation of the human heart 
tends to nourish a conviction that there must l)e a life beyond 
this, that this can not be the end of everything, that there 
must be another sphere of existence, sublimated out of the 
human, in which our being shall be endless, unclouded, 
unmarked by .sorrow or care, where the sun shall eternally 
shine, where life shall have no end. In this faith we live 
through this earth life; to this we cling in our moments of 
darkness and when despair would settle upon us like a pall. 



42 yftniorial Addresses: Jidni Franklin Rixcy 

I'pon this \vc rest wIk-ii Ihrealened willi L-artlil_\- extinction. 
It is our hope, the star whose beams pierce through the 
clouds and fog and darkness when our loved ones go hence. 
Kven if it could be demonstrated that this hope is without 
ba.sis, that its a.spirations have nothing u])on which to re.st, 
it would be cruelty to know the truth and to reveal it. We 
rest upon the hope, we dwell in the promise, and when this 
life is over, be the ending .soon or be it remote, be it glorious 
or be it the reverse, we all go down in the ho])e that there 
shall be au awakening beyond the tonil), and that the spirit 
which dominates and animates us here, which triumphs over 
flesh and over distance and circumstance, which .soars upon 
its wings of faith and Iniilds with its power of genius beyond 
the clouds will survi\-e when the earthly tabernacle lies low in 
the dust from which it was originally created. 



Address of Mr. Laiiih.^ of I irginia 43 



Address of Mr. Lamb, of Virginia 

Mr. Speakkk: For the fourth time in twice as many years 
the A'irginia delej^ation in this House are called on to pay 
tril)ute to a departed colleague. Truly in the midst of life we 
are confronted by death. Death loves a .shining mark, and in 
the demi.se of JOHX F. Rixe;y it found one. An able and con- 
scientious Representative, a loyal citizen of the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, a devoted husband, father, and brother has passed 
from earth to the spirit land. 

It is no exaggeration to say that few Members of this House 
during the past decade commanded more respect and admira- 
tion tlian did our colleague, for he po.sses.sed qualities of head 
and heart that endeared him to all who were thrown with him 
in the committee rooms and on the floor. 

Had this blow fallen to one of the older Members of our 
delegation we would ha^•e .said : " This is but nature's law: the 
machinery that sustains the mystery we call life has failed to 
perform its appointed task and the no less mystery of death 
is the natural consequence." 

According to man's allotted time, j-ears of great influence 
were before him ; years in which to \z.y up knowledge and ren- 
der service to those who loved, honored, and trusted him ; years 
in which to study the science of govennnent and apply its 
principles ; years in which to stud}- human nature and work 
out plans for the betterment of his fellows; yea. more, for him 
personally years in which to rear and direct the young and 
tender plants that gathered around his hearthstone : years of 
love and care for the one who brought life to his life and peace 
to his home. 



44 Mt inorial Add>rssis: John l'raiikli}i Rixcy 

Without the showy (jiiaHties of the orator, he possessed what 
we all know is more wiluahle in a Representative^sound jud^^- 
inent and patient attention to the details of the work. Through 
this he reached results here that fully met the demands of his 
constituents and would ha\-e insured him continued sen-ice as 
long as he desired to l)e a Representatixe in Congress. 

The Commonwealth of \'irginia can ill afford to lose, in the 
prime of life, such a man as was our deceased comrade. The 
jieople outside of the Eighth di.strict knew and appreciated him. 
In the cit>- of Richmond .several >-ears ago he addres.sed a ver>- 
cultivated audience, and as I passed through the crowd I heard 
men say: "That speech was worth listening to. vSome clay 
that man will be governor of the State." 

I had a better opportunity, possibly, than any other of our 

delegation of judging as to the estimate put upon him by the 

people of the Eighth district, for I canvas.sed .several of his 

counties in 1898, and since that time have spoken frequently in 

various places in the district. I did not meet a man who .spoke 

of him in any but the highest terms, and all .seemed perfectlv 

satisfied with the valuable serv'ice he gave them. If he had 

enemies — and who has served ten years in Congress without 

making some — I never met one. The opinion held of him in 

ever\- county, so far as I have l)eeii a])le to learn, was strongly 

voiced in the Alexandria Sunda>- Times of yesterda\- a week 

ago. After summing up the work done for that city, the writer 

said: 

What lie has done for this city and county lie has done for every other 
couiily in his district, and has never failed to aid anything,' that tended to 
advance the interest of his mother State. Words are inadequate to do 
justice to this j^enial, liij^li-toned, honorable \'irj,Mnia gentleman, now laid 
beneath the soil of old \'irj.(ini:i, whom he loved so well and served so 
faithfully. 

This would be a fitting epitaph on his tomb, where he sleeps 
beneath the .s<jd of old Cul])e])er Countw where liis bo\diood 



. IM/-(SS />/' Mr. /.(i»//>, of I 'iii;/)/ia 45 

(lays were spent as he watched the sur^iiiK tide oi hatlle roll 
over the red hills and lovely plains of his native county. Ik- 
was a lad of niuL- suininers when as a man ol" 22 >-ears of aji^e I 
led a squadron of troop in a deadh' fray throuj^h the streets of 
Culpeper. He .L,n-ew to manhood amidst the struggles and trials 
of a peo]ile who lost all save their unquenchable spirit and 
unstained honor. No wonder that he possessed his full share 
of both and that they fed his young heart with noble resolves 
and fired his soul with a determination to fight life's battles as 
l)ravely as he had seen men face the mortal perils of the 
battlefield. 

Our colleague and friend accomplished more in two decades 
than most men of equal, if not better, opportunities, have done 
in twice that time. Witness an honorable and efficient service 
as Commonwealth's attorney of his count>- for tweh-e years. 
See and enjoy, as I have, the culture and refinement and com- 
fort of one of the best-ordered and most hospitable homes in all 
Virginia. Turn the pages of the Congressional Record and .see 
his spirit, character, and manhood imprinted wherever duty 
impelled, or an entirely fitting and never a made op])ortunity 
presented itself. 

If in a little over two decades he had accomplished this much, 
what might he not have achieved had robust health and long 
life been given unto him? We need not .speculate. The end 
came. The .shock was .severe to most of us. 

Of his faith I need not speak. I have reason to know that 
it was strong and abiding. It served him well when trials 
came. It accounts in part for his popularity in this House and 
elsewhere. It had been growing with his years. The .spirit 
speaks when the lips are closed. We can not conceal our iimer 
life from others, try all we may. The laws of the spirit are as 
fixed as those of gravitation. 



46 Mi))iorial Addresses: John Frank/ in Rixey 

M\- ])crsonal relations w itli and ni\- atlachnicnt for John F. 
RiXKY might be best told — if these need be told at all in this 
presence — by reference to my correspondence. Letters from 
my close friends and relatives, and even com])arative strangers, 
were fdleil with words of condolence for me personally, and 
expressions of regret and s\inpathy at the loss I had sustained 
in the death of one of wlunn they had heard me speak so often 
and so highly. 

I am comforted by the thought that the.se words of prai.se I 
here express in one form or another I uttered of him while he 
lived. I shall love to recall his form and features, and during 
the active years that are left me I shall now and then visit 
the spot where we laid him to rest. 

Peace to his memory. May a kind Providence guard and 
protect tho.se who directly l)ind his memory to earth. 

FURTHER .\CTION OF THK HOUSE. 

Mr. Speaker: I move that as a further mark of respect to 
the memory of the deceased the Hou.se take a recess until 12 
o'clock noon. 

The motion was agreed to. 

Accordingly (at 11 o'clock and 30 minutes a. m.) the House 
was declared in recess. 

The recess having expired, at 12 o'clock noon the Hou.se was 
called to order by the Speaker. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 

Saturday, February g, igoy. 

A message from the House of Representatives, l)y Mr. \V. J. 
Browning, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Senate the 
inteUigence of the death of Hon. John F. Rixey, late a Rep- 
resentative from the State of Virginia, and transmitted the 
resolutions of the House thereon. 

The Vice-President laid before the Senate the following 
resolutions of the House of Representatives, which were read: 

In the House of Representatives. 

February g, igoj. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with deep regret and profound 
sorrow of the death of the Hon. John F. Rixev, a Representative from 
the State of Virginia. 

Resolved, That a committee of seventeen Members of the House, with 
such members of the Senate as may be joined, may be appointed to attend 
the funeral at Culpeper, Va., and that the necessary expenses attending 
the execution of this order be paid out of the contingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms be authorized and directed to take 
such steps as may be necessary for properly carrying out the provisions of 
this resolution. 

Resolved, That the Clerk connnunicate these resolutions to the Senate 
and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The Speaker announced the appointment of :Mr. Jones. Mr. Hay, Mr. 
Lamb, Mr. Flood, Mr. Maynard, Mr. Glass, Mr. Slemp, j\Ir. Southall, 
:Mr. Saunders, of Virginia; Mr. Foss, of IlHnois; Mr. Meyer, of Louisiana; 
:\Ir. William W. Kitchin, of North Carolina; Mr. Gregg, of Texas; Mr. 
Williams, of Mississippi; Mr. De Arniond, of Missouri; Mr. Burton, of 
Delaware, and Mr. Slayden, of Texas, members of the committee on the 
part of the House. 

47 



48 Mtinon'al . It/t/rtssis: JoJiii Franklin Rixcy 

Mr. I)a.\"iki.. Mr. I'rc.^^ideiit, this forenoon, a.s the Members 
of the two Houses of Congress were assemlihng for their daily 
task, inteUigence came that the Hon. John Fkaxklix Rixky, 
who for five terms has represented the Ivighth district of \'ir- 
ginia in the Honse of Repre.sentatives, luul tliis morning de- 
parted this hfe at liis residence in this city. 

I move. Mr. President, that this body, having received offi- 
cial notification of his death, adopt the resolutions which I send 
to the de.sk. 

The \'ick-President. The Senator from \'irginia ])roposes 
resolutions, which will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. John F. Rixkv, late a Representative from the 
State of Virginia. 

Resolved, That a committee of seven Senators be appointed by the Vice- 
President to join the committee appointed on the part of the House 
of Representatives to take order for superintending the funeral of the 
deceased. 

Resolzed, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the 
House of Representatives. 

The Vice-Presidext. The question is on agreeing to the 
resolutions sitbmitted by the Senator from A'irginia. 

The resolutions were unanimou.sly agreed to. 

The Vice-Pkesidext appointed as the committee on the 
part of the Senate, under the second resolution, Mr. Daniel, 
Mr. Taliaferro, Mr. Dick, Mr. Patterson, Mr. Ankeny. Mr. 
P'lint, and Mr. Clarke of Arkan.sas. 

Mr. D.vxiKi.. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect to 
the memory of the decea.sed, I move that the Senate adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 o'clock 
and 25 minutes p. m. ) the Senate adjournctl luitil Monda\ , 
February 11, 1907, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



Proardiuo^s in Ihr Sciiali- 49 

\\'j':i).\l<:s])A\-, J-cb> nary ^7, Kjoj. 
Mr. Daxiki.. Mr. President, I take this occa.sioii to give 
notice that on vSalurchiy afternoon, l)efore a recess or adjourn- 
ment, I shall ask the vSenate to adopt apjM-opriate re.solutions 
and to take beconiincr action concerning the late Representative 
John F. Rixkv, who recently died, and who.se funeral has been 
attended l)y a committee of this 1)0(1\-. 

vS.VTrKDAV, ManJi 2, /(^oj. 
The Vice-President. The Chair lays before the vSenate re.s- 
olutions from the House of Representatives, which will be read. 
The Secretary read the re.solutions of the House, as follows : 

In THK HouSK <)!■' RHPKESENT.A.TIVKS, 

February 2^, igoj. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the Hon. John F. Rixey, late 
a Member of this House from the vState of Virginia, and in pursuance of 
the order heretofore made, the business of the House be now suspended to 
enable his associates to pay fitting tribute to his high character and dis- 
tinguished services. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these reso'utions to the vSenate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be, and he is hereby, instructed to send a copy 
of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, I l)eg leave to offer the re.solu- 
tions which I .send to the desk. 

The re.solutions were read and unanimousl\- agreed to, as 
follows : 

Resolved, That the vSenate has heard with ])rof(nind sorrow of the death 
of Hon. John F. Rixev, late a Representative from the vState of Virginia. 

Resolved, That the ])usiness of the Senate be now suspended in order 
that a fitting tribute may be paid to his memory. 

H. Doc. Si 2, 59-2 4 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



^ 



Address of Mr. Daniel, of Virginia 

Mr. President : When two days hence the Fifty-ninth 
Congress shall cease and the term of the Sixtieth Congress 
shall begin, there will be names accredited to the new roll 
which will have none to answer thereto. Death has been 
busy in this Congress. Four Senators and five Representa- 
tives have ceased to be. This day three weeks ago John 
Frankun Rixey, of Culpeper, Va., Representative of the 
Eighth district, was numbered amongst them. He was the 
able and effective Representative of that district for ten years. 
He had been chosen, although absent from the State by reason 
of his sickness, to succeed himself. No need for his presence. 
The people knew him and were for him. The ^•oice of the 
Ruler of the Universe has overruled the voice of the people 
and has disposed the purposes of man. 

Mr. Rixey was born in Culpeper, near the county seat 
which bears the county name, on the ist day of August, 1854. 
He died in this city on the 9th day of February of the 
present year, at the home of his brother, Surgeon-General 
Rixey, of the Navy. His body, attended by the committee 
of the two Houses of Congress which had been appointed to 
pay to him the last honors, and followed by many mourning 
friends, was borne to his home and consigned to his native 
dust. 

51 



52 Mt)}tor!al Aiidrrsscs: Joliii /'"nink/iii Ixixcy 

There is a l)rift" skelcli ol" liini in tlie Congressional 
Directory, which recites as follows: That he was educated in 
the connnon schools, at Bethel Academy, and the University 
of \'irginia; is a lawyer and farmer; was Commonwealth's 
attorney for Culpeper County twelve years; was elected to 
the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, Fifty-seventh, and Fifty-eighth 
Congresses, and reelected to the Fift3'-ninth Congress, receiv- 
ing 7,986 votes to 2,443 f<^>r ^^^^ opponent. To this account 
sliould lie added that he was reelected to succeed himself at 
the Congressional election of November, 1906. 

For five terms he had faithfully ser\^ed his people with dili- 
gence and with successful attention to every duty connnitted to 
his hands. 

It is proljable that there is no district in the I'nited States, 
unless it be the Congressional district of Maryland which ad- 
joins the District of Columbia, which has so man}- affairs to be 
attended to in Washington as has this Eighth district of \'ir- 
giuia. Many of its people have located here. Many who are 
engaged in Washington on official or other business have located 
there. Manj* of them find employment here by rea.son of their 
proximity and convenient access. The Representative of the 
district has therefore entailed ui)on him multifarious duties 
such as are Ijut lightly shared l)y Representatives from distant 
places. 

With patience, with alacrity, with faithful and afl'ectionate 
regard for his people, as well as with a loyal and devout sense 
of obligation to his country, Mr. Ri.xi'.v Ixjsiowed a constant 
and unrelaxing devotion to his ta.sks. 

The feelings of a past generation have died out .save in honor 
of the past. There is nothing of public sentnnent in \'irginia 
that is not in unison witli IIr- Tniu-d vStalcs. Congressman 
Rixi;v, though in l)o\]iood \\c knew war in its sternest and 



Address' of Mr. Daniel, of I 'iroinia 53 

bitterest ways, represented to-day and to-morrow as much as 
ever his brother, who heads the Medical Corps of our Naval 
Department. 

As a member of the Naval Committee of the House he dis- 
tinguished himself by his knowledge of naval affairs, and he 
was always to be found at the post of duty. His interest in and 
attention to agriculture led to the measure that established the 
experimental agricultural station in Alexandria County, just 
across the Potomac Ri\-er. 

Of a fine mind, well trained in the schools, and with an earn- 
est and energetic nature which was tireless and ceaseless in pur- 
suing the ends it aimed at, few men have been so concentrative 
in their endeavors or so successful in their attainment. 

His boyhood was spent at the very focus of the active scenes 
of war. From his father's house, where were the headquarters 
of the Federal xVrmy in the town of Culpeper, General Grant, on 
the 3d of May, 1864, rode forth to the battle of the Wilderness. 
During the four years while the storm of conflict raged over 
northern Virginia scenes of swift recurring battles were familiar 
to his eyes and the diapason of the cannonade familiar to his 
ears. When war ended, the territory which he represented 
and that adjoining had come to be known as "the Flanders of 
the War." 

When the surviving Confederate soldiers returned to their 
homes, Maj. Albert G. vSmith, who had been woinided in Pick- 
ett's charge at Gettysburg, and who I have heard described by 
his comrades as standing on the heights with the hilt of a 
sword in his hand, which had been broken by some hurtling 
missile of the battle, established the Bethel Academy near the 
town of Warrenton, in Fauquier. As Lee went to the head of 
Washington College, which became Washington and Lee Uni- 
versity, so Major Smith now devoted himself to training the 



54 Memorial Addresses: JoJm Frank/iii Kixey 

boys of the countr\-si(k* in llic \va\s (jf ])eace. Not forgetting 
tliat peace ninst always be prepared for war, and instinctively 
knowing that " to ride, to shoot, and to tell the truth" was 
the maxim of his people for the instruction of youth not less 
than the ancient Persian, he made it a military as well as a 
classical and mathematical academy. At one time one of his 
tutors was Major Jenkins, of South Carolina, afterwards dis- 
tinguished at Santiago, and mauy of his boys went forth with 
the Army of the United States to the Spanish war. 

In ilie Berkley School and in this academy young RiXHV re- 
ceived his early education, and then repaired to the ITniver.sity 
of Virginia and to the study of law. 

He was ere long elected Commonwealth's attorney for Cul- 
peper County, and then commenced the Congressional career 
wliich has been so luihappily clo.sed by his death. 

For scenic and for dramatic things and for those which at- 
tract conspicuous notice, Mr. Rixev displayed but little taste. 
His was a businesslike and practical mind, that looked to the 
accomplishment of results rather than to ostentation or ])arade 
on the road to them. 

He was a lover of the country, and lived at a beautiful home 
near Brandy Station, which overlooks the field of the great 
cavalry battle of June 9, 1863, between Stuart and Pleasanton. 
A third of the war was fouglit in \'irginia. The Eighth and 
the adjoining districts, with that around Richmond and Petens- 
burg, were its centers. Within view of the .sunnnit on which 
stands his home are many other battlefields and scenes identi- 
fied witli the great strife which on each .side made amlntion 
virtue. 

As success came to him he increased his holdings of land. 
A farm was to him the spot of most attractiveness. On the 



Address af Mr. Danul, of I 'iry^inia 55 

scarred Manassas field, scene of great wrestlings, as well as in 
his native connty of Cnlpeper, he rejoiced to see the grass 
grow and his llocks and herds feed amidst scenes of pastoral 

beauty. 

His was a wholesome as well as an active and Inisy life. The 
domesticity of his nature manifested itself in his pursuits and 
aspirations whenever public cares relaxed. 

He was an able lawyer; well read in the books and well 
practiced in his profession. He established high rank at a bar 
where he was brought into competition and conflict with man>- 
of the ])rightest and ablest minds of the State. 

When he entered politics, he soon became a leader of the 
people. The succe.ssive times that he was chosen to represent 
them here attest their fidelity to him even as his own career 
attests his fidelity to them. 

If deep conviction, thorough devotion, and the enthu.sia.sm of 
service make the partisan, such, then, must Mr. Rixky be 
counted. But he was not a man ofFen.sive either in words or 
ways to those opposed to him. Standing for the independence 
and honesty of opinion, for free action and free speech, he 
respected those whose opinions were different from his own. 
He ob-served the wisdom that comes from the heart. He obeyed 
the wise counsel so well given by Allen G. Thurman, "the old 
Roman," when he said " Keep a civil tongue in your mouth." 
Such is the characteristic of all well-mannered, self-respecting, 
and well-poised men, who remember that by the very truths on 
which their own rights are founded rest also side by side with 
them the equal rights of others. "So use thine own as not to 
hurt another ' ' is the maxim of our common law, borrowed from 
the broad-minded and deep-hearted jurisprudence of ancient 
Rome, that lays its inflexible injunction on the tongue as well 



}[t))iorial Aiidnssrs: JoJni Frnuk/in Kixcv 

as on the hand of man and keci)s liini witliiii the- 1k)Uiu1s of his 
own domain in the moralities, decencies, and civiHties of Hfe as 
well as in his dealings with respect to material things. 

Partisan he may have been — most of us arc — ])Ut he never 
trenched !)>■ word upon the character, as he did not l)y deed 
upon the belongings, of another. 

The Ivighth district of \'irginia is one of the mo.st historic 
regions of the United States. If its history were written, it 
would involve the writing of the history of the whole country 
from its colonial da>s to the present time. 

When one considers even the names of the comities which 
Mr. RiXEV represented, he sees in them the names drawn from 
memory of the motherland rather than from the new inspira- 
tions of the Republic. 

Culpeper County, of which he was a native and a resident, 
was formed in 1748 and named after Lord Cul])epL-r, one of the 
colonial governors of Virginia. 

Fairfax Count>' dates its origin to 1742 and bears the name 
of Lord Fairfax, who held an inunense grant from the English 
Crown. F'auquier Count}- separated from Prince William in 
1759, and was called after Charles F'^auquier, colonial governor 
from i75«S to 1767. King George County, formed in 1720 from 
Richmond Count>', lakes its name from the Fjiglish King. 
Loudoun County, formed in 1757 from Fairfax, gets it name 
from the Flarl of Loudoun, who commanded the British forces 
during the latter part of the French war. Prince William 
County, named after an hjiglish prince, was created from vStaf- 
ford and King George. vStafford, formerly a part of West- 
moreland, was formed in 1675. Loui.sa, created in 1742 from 
Hanover, and Alexandria, the newcomer — all alike bear the 
ancient names. I have not examined to see, but, unless in 
New J'^ngland, I douljt if there is another Congressional district 



yhMrrss of Mr. Daniel, of \'iro;iiiia 57 

ill tile I'niU-d Slates wiiicli in all its counties sa\-L- one — in this 
case that of Alexandria — bears the old colonial names which 
they bore when independence was declared. And Alexandria 
County has the fine flavor of the ancient days, which it 
acquired from the venerable city which was the home of both 
Washington and Lee. 

The traits of the fatherland are in them. But they are 
Americans all; founders and lovers of freedom as the greatest 
of human possessions; patriotic to the core; upholders of home 
rule, but filled with the splendid aspiration of the reunited 
nation. 

They are lovers of the land, and on isolated plantations they 
have planted pleasant homes. The>' have taken part not only 
in the Indian wars that antedated the Revolution, but in every 
war with which this country has been identified. I noted not 
long since, in traversing some of the remini.scences of Culpeper, 
that George Washington was surveyor of that county when he 
was a youth of 17, in the service of L,ord Fairfax, making his 
own living and going out into the adventures of life before he 
had yet become a man. In the records of that county there is 
this entry: 

20th July, 1749. George Washington, Gent, produced a commission 
from the president and members of \\'illiam and ]Mary College, appoint- 
ing him to be surveyor of this county, which was read, and thereupon he 
took the usual oaths to His Majesty's person and CJovernment and took 
and subscribed the abjuration oath and test, and then took the oath of 
surveyor, according to law. 

Fotir of our great Presidents are identified with its history. 
Washington's tomb is in Fairfax. Madison lived and rests in 
.Orange. Monroe for a time had his seat at Oak Hill, in Lou- 
doun. Zachary Taylor was born in Orange. 

When the Revolution broke out the Culpeper minute men 
made a name for themselves, not onl_\- in the swift patriotism 



5«^ Manorial Addresses: JoJm FraJikliii Rtxcy 

with which they responded U) the call of Governor Patrick 
Henry, but by their conduct upon the field of battle. The 
Culpeper minute men turned out for war the last time in the 
vSjmnish war. From the day of the Revolution to this hour 
they have always been ready to respond at a moment's warning 
to tlieir country's call. They float on their flag the picture of 
a rattlesnake, with the legend "Don't tread on me!" Those 
Culpeper minute men and the men of the adjoining counties 
were soon formed into a regiment. Lawrence Taliaferro, a 
kinsman of the distinguished vSenator now representing Florida 
in this body, was its colonel. 

vStevens was its lieutenant-colonel, afterwards a general. 
Thomas Marshall, father of the great Chief Justice, was its 
major, and .serving as a lieutenant was the incipient Chief 
Justice himself. 

There is a story told of this regiment at the battle of the 
(ireat Bridge, which I like to refer to, because it is character- 
istic of the great people who inhal)il the region of A'irginia 
along the Potomac, and which those going westwardly in the 
vState and beyond it have carried with them. This regiment 
encountered in the battle of the Great Bridge a regiment of 
the British regulars. They were behind earthworks, and when 
the liritish regulars charged them they were beaten back. 
Swift to heal, as quick and steady to fight, the \'irginians 
leajied over the breastworks and helped to bind the wounds 
which they had made. 

The ])eo])leof tliis whole section are high .spirited, chivalrous, 
brave, (piick to resent insult, firm and strong in resistance to 
wrong, but at the .same time one of the sweetest-tempered and 
most hospitable jieople that one could meet upon a summer's 
day. They are lovers of the land. T1k>" rejoice in the scenes 
of the countrvside, in the fields, in the streams, in llie woods. 



.h/t/rcss (if Ml . Daniel^ of / '/n^n'fiia ^cj 

In their lil)i-aries are ^ood l)ooks that abouiul not in sensations. 
They are ^ijood hunters and fine marksmen, and they are hos- 
pitable hosts. The refinements of hfe al)ide amon<;st them, 
and they are as gentle in ])eace as they are fierce and dauntless 
in war. 

Mr. RixKv was a representative man of this countryside. His 
father was a landholder. He himself had that land thirst which 
made him buy and cultivate the land whenever he was able to 
do so. He be-spoke a people who loved home, who imbibe prin- 
ciples of love of country from the fireside. They respect char- 
acter a1)ove all things; never call without reverence the name 
of woman. 

The Representatives of this district have always been men of 
mark. The district looks upon its Representative as a man who 
nmst be one fit to hold a great and responsible office and worthy 
to discharge its trust and duty. vSince the reconstruction period 
but six men have represented it: Elliot Brax,ton, descended from 
a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Eppa Hunton, 
renowned first in his .service in the legislature of his State and 
in the State convention and then as a .soldier, who led the iron- 
sides of battle; John S. Barbour, accomplished in many ways — 
in the .studies of the academy; as president of a great railroad; 
as chairman of a great party; equal in mental grasp and in 
social dignity to any of the higher tasks of life. Then William 
H. F. Eee, a brave .soldier and a noble gentleman, a man who.se 
beautiful attachment to his every duty was like the esprit de 
corps which converts the soldier to the cau.se which commands 
his allegiance; then Elisha Meredith, a j-ounger man of a new 
generation, but one of a most nol)le and manly tj-pe; manly 
and vigorous mold, generous, active, a true friend, a hardy 
champion, a man of hope who died too young, and then suc- 
ceeding him came John F. Rixey, whom we mourn to-dav. 



6<_) Ml )norial Addri'ssis: JoJui Fra)ikliii Rixry 

Three of these Representatives have dieil while the\- served 
in the House <>t" Representatives, Lee and Meredith, and now, 
also, RiXKV. Two of them became Senators of the United 
States — John vS. Barbour and IC]ipa Hunton — and the former was 
Ixjrne from this Chamber to liis hist home. The latter survives, 
venerated t>f all. Who will be .Mi\ l\ixi:v"s successor no man 
knows, but we all know that these six gentlemen who have rep- 
re.sented their State in the halls of Cono^ress have represented 
it and their countr>- well, and that their successor has worthy 
exemplars before him. 

Mr. RixKv's home life was a ha])i\\- one. He wedded Miss 
Harbour, daughter of James Barbour, who was a lawyer, legi.s- 
lator. and jniblicist, who was distinguished 1)\- the abilities 
which have characterized the family to which he belonged. 
For many \ears they dwelt together in the holy e.state and in 
the quiet hospitable home. We pause at its threshold. Buit 
to its inmates go forth our deepest sympathy for the loss 
irreparable. We can neither retrieve nor heal it; we can 
only bow Ix'fore Him who.se mercy endureth forever. 

In the fifty-fourth year of his age. while his ripened facul- 
ties, cultivated l)y experience as well as by education, were at 
maturity, and when they might have been of mo.st benefit to 
liis country, t(j his famil\-, and to his kind, he has l)een cut 
(hnvn. There were premonitions of his end. A \ear ago, 
when Congress atljourned, it was known that he was ailing. 
It .seemed that that dreadful disease, tuberculosis, had menaced 
if not yet fully attacked him. He went to the wholesome 
climate of Colorado seeking relief. But he sought it there in 
vain. He returned to his home. During his ab.sence he had 
Ix-en cliosen as his own successor. But it was not to be. He 
was f<jr several months an invalid, and it l)ecame exident that 
the liand «^f the destroyer could not be sta_\ed. I'atieul. .sub- 



Address of Mi. Dai/ic/, of I'lri^inia 6i 

missive, nieetinj; the fale in store lor liiiii witli tlie fortitude 
witli which he had contemplated all the tasks and danj^ers and 
tribiUations of life, peacefully, at his brother's home in this 
city, on the 9th day of last month, he breathed his last. 

It is a characteristic of our race, Mr. President, and one 
\vorth>- to be cultivated and preserved, that they do not make 
loud lamentations over the dead and do not seek ostentatious 
funerals. When their time has come they step aside for the 
generation that presses upon their heels. They would not add 
one memory of grief and .sorrow to those left behind. It can 
be .said of John F. Rixkv that he performed a man's ])art in 
life and did it well and faith full}-. It is enough. 

His kindred, his companions, and his people honored him. 
Tho.se dear to him loved him. vSuch was his reward. He 
proved equal to all the ta.sks which he assumed. He has 
passed hence, leaving a name to be cherished by those who 
loved him and to be honored and respected by those who knew 
him. 



62 Mcniorial Addresses: John Fra)ikli)i Rixey 



Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 

Mr. PkhsidknT: Death is ever an unwelcoine j^^uest. He is 
no respecter of ]Krson, no respecter of time or place. The 
laughing schoolboy feels the clutch of his icy fingers and passes 
from the pleasures and pastimes of childhood into the great 
unknown. The gray-haired man, who has conquered every 
obstacle that aj^peared in his pathway during a long and stren- 
uous life, though surrounded by every comfort and luxury that 
wealth can bring, responds to the call that death sends to him, 
and leaves all and follows death out into the shadows and acro.ss 
the dark waters that separate this life from a future exi.stence. 

However long may be the struggle, however fierce the con- 
test, all alike must sooner or later yield to that grim-visaged 
monster. 

John F. Rixkv has trodden the path prepared for him by 
death long before his exit from this world, and has pas.sed 
into the great unknown. Many years before death finally 
claimed him for his own he recognized that he was stricken 
with a mortal disease, and, like the Christian philosopher that 
he was, prepared to meet his final concjueror with that perfect 
resignation that comes from a realization of a well-spent life 
here and an assurance that the transition from this life to 
another will take him to that better world where all Christians 
are taught the just will meet. 

Death achie\ed no mastery over him. He fought the ))attle 
as becomes a true Christian, and when the inevitable liour 
approached welcomed death more in the spirit of a victor llian 
that of the vanquished. Dearl>- as he loved this life, his 
family and friends, his native State and his country, he 



Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 63 

believed tluit he was passing into thai higher and lioHer 
existence that we are all taught is the fortune of those who 
follow the simple precepts of a Christian life. 

I first met Mr. RiXEY in the House of Representatives in the 
Fifty-fifth Congress. He had just been elected to the House 
from the Eighth Virginia district, and I had been reelected from 
the then Eighth district of Illinois. I had had a service of 
some years in the Hou.se of Representatives and was well 
acquainted with many of the older Members of Congress from 
that State. That great Commonwealth and her public men 
have always had a great interest for me. The Northwest 
Territory, from which the State of Illinois was carved, was 
once a possession of Virginia, and all loyal citizens of Illinois 
take a natural pride in that State and her public men. Mr. 
RixEY was a typical Virginian. He had inherited that love of 
country life that is characteristic of the great men of that 
State from the time of Washington and Jefferson to that of 
Lee and Wise. The men of mark in that State have been men 
who were passionately fond of country life. 

Mr. RixEY did not po.s.sess the brilliant qualities of mind 
that made Patrick Henry the first orator of his time and Robert 
E. Lee one of the greatest military geniuses of his age. His 
attainments were of the solid, substantial kind, that were so 
marked in the type of men like James Madison in the earlier 
history of the State, and more recently in men like the late 
Senator Barbour. 

In his brief biographical sketch that he prepared for the 
Congressional Directory he described himself as a lawyer and 
a farmer. To men residing in great cities like Chicago, New 
York, or Philadelphia this combination of farmer and lawyer 
seems inconsistent, but it accurately described the life that was 
led by Mr. Rixey. He was a country-bred lawyer, and when 



64 MiDiorial Addresses: JoJni Frank/in Rixey 

lie was not engaged in court or over his law books in the prepa- 
ration of a case for trial, was out upon his plantation enjoying 
to the fullest limit the pleasures of rural life. It is said that 
he was very successful at the bar. From my knowledge of 
him as a Member of Congress, I can well appreciate the fact 
of his great success with courts and juries. He had an air 
of honesty that disarmed opposition, and possessed a clearness 
of speech and a cogency of reasoning that must have made him 
very effective with the jury of twelve or with the judge. 

His experience upon his farms in coming in close touch with 
nature gave him keener perceptions and a nicer judgment on 
all questions of right and justice than can be acquired in a 
smoky law office in a great city. There is something about life 
in the country that broadens and enlightens the mind. Men 
who follow intellectual pursuits are greatly strengthened and 
broadened by this contact with nature that one derives from 
country life. John Mar.shall would never have given to the 
country and to the world those marvelous opinions constru- 
ing the Constitution of our connnon country had he been 
deprived of the benefits and influences exerted upon him in 
that ideal countrj- life that he enjoyed during the thirty-odd 
years that he was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States. 

The late Judge Drunimond, of Chicago, is a man whose 
name is revered and lo\-ed b}- all law>ers who had the good 
fortune to practice in the circuit court of the United States at 
Chicago — the court over which lie presided. I have often 
heard it said by those who were most familiar with him that 
whenever he was troubled over legal questions that were argued 
Ijefore him or when his mind was clouded or uncertain on what 
course he .should adopt on litigation pending before him, he 
would go out into the c()Uiitr\- to his little farm, and there, 
while he was ox-erseeing the care of his cattle and sheep and 



Address of Mr. Hopkins, of Illinois 65 

ho^s and horses, he soK-ed llie problems that perplexed him 
while in his court room in the .<,n-eat city; and when he came 
back to liis court he came with a mind clarified and Ijroadened 
by his country experience and administered the law in a spirit 
of fairness and justice that has placed his name among the 
greatest judges of this or any other country. 

Mr. RixKv naturally, from his mode of life, took a deep 
interest in politics, and that he should eventually repre.sent his 
people in Congress was as natural and as inevitable as that 
night follows day. His practice at the bar in the circuit carried 
him over many of the counties of his district. The people in 
the court room learned of his high character, his candor, and 
his fidelity to duty, and when the time came in his career when 
he felt that he could abandon in whole or in part his law 
practice the people of the Eighth Virginia district honored 
themselves by electing him to the House of Representatives of 
the United States. The repeated elections which followed his 
first, show how well he met the expectations of his con.stituents 
and how fully he discharged all of the duties of a Representative 
in Congress. I found him during the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, 
and Fifty-seventh Congresses, in which I .served with him, 
always alert when the interests of his constituents or of his 
State were involved. He was a broad-minded, patriotic citizen, 
and while he never forgot the people of his district or of his 
State, he was always quick to respond to any question that 
involved the true interests of his country. 

Mr. President, Virginia will undoubtedly have in the future, 
as she has had in the past, men to repre.sent her in the Congress 
of the United States of marvelous oratorical ability, but she 
will have no one, in my judgment, who will be more faithful 
to her interests or more true to his ideals than was Joiix F. 
RixEv. 

H. Doc. Si 2, .59-2 5 



66 Memorial Addresses: John Fra)ikliii Rixey 



Address of Mr. Hemenway, of Indiana 

Mr. President: I desire to add a few words of tribute to 
the memory of John Franklin Rixev. I served with him in 
the lower House of Congress, and there learned to respect and 
admire him. He was a member of the Committee on Xaval 
AfTairs, and my position on the Committee on Appropriations 
frequently brought me in personal contact with the members of 
his committee, and I shall never forget the industry, patience, 
and patriotism with wliicli Mr. RixEv di.scharged his duties as 
a Representative of the great State of Virginia. We differed 
in politics, but above parti.sanship there always shone out from 
his character the higher and nobler sentiments of a patriotic 
American citizen. 

He was a typical Virginian, and he was proud of her historw 
He knew Virginia as the great State that she is, that has 
furnished to our country .some of our most noted statesmen and 
greatest juri.sts. He was born in Culpeper County Augu.st i, 
1854, during the days when public .sentiment was arraying il.self 
on one side or the other of the question that seven years later 
resulted in the greatest war the world has ever witnessed. His 
earlier impressions were formed during the days when men 
thought deep and strong, when martial music lllled the air and 
soldiers were marching to war. Though he lived in a section 
of the country where the fruits of war were mo.st bitter and 
where the hand of destruction fell most heavily, yet in his life 
an<l ])ul)lic .service there was nauglil but the broadest states- 
man.ship that rejoices in a great united country. 

Words of eulogy can not add to or detract from the fame of 
any man, but when offered as they are to-day they do credit to 



Address of Mr. I fr)iirua'a\\ of Indiana 67 

those who sjK'ak thL-m. iVrluips no hi- her tribute can he i)aid 
a man in public hfc than the tribute that lie lal)ore(l earnestly 
and faithiully to bring about matters of public benefit, and 
perhaps no jniblic man who had an and>iti..n to serve the people 
faithfully and earnestly would desire a greater compliment than 
to have it said of him "he succeeded." 

Measured by this test. Mr. Rixey's life was complete. He 
not only .served his people diligently and faithfully and accom- 
plished much good, but he made man>- friends, who .shall always 
remember him pleasantly and kindl\-. 



68 Mi))iorial .[ddnsscs: John Fra)iklin Rixey 



Address of Mr. Carmack, of Tennessee 

Mr. Pkesidknt: The death of John F. Rixjcv was to me 
a personal grief. I served with hiin as a Member of the House, 
was brought into close and frequent contact with him in com- 
mittee, and learned to know him — head and heart. We entered 
the Hou.se together. We became friends almost as soon as we 
became acquaintances. This friendship, upon my part, was 
based u])on the only sure and enduring foundation of friend- 
ship, an admiration for the solid qualities of the man. I 
observed in my a.s.sociation with him that his con.scientiousness 
in the performance of public duties was marked and exceptional. 
He loved to know things thoroughly and to do things well. He 
sought with earnest purpo.se to know his premises perfecth' 
before he rea.soned to the conclusion. He brought to the con- 
.sideratiou of public questions a mind that was lucid, clear, and 
logical. It .seemed to me that he labored to cast out of his 
thought all prejudice and preconceived opinion when he had to 
deal with a particular case. He had fixed principles which he 
held, not for .show nor for purposes of academic discussion. 
They were to him rules of life, and he made his opinions and 
his conduct in ]Kirticular ca.ses conform rigidl\- thereto. Truth 
and right and justice were always present with him. 

In dealing with public matters his thought was directed to 
the merits of the question in debate rather than to the temper 
or dispo.sition of his audience, and his power of ]ier.suasion lay 
in the force of his reasoning, the- luci(lil\- of his statement, and 
his clear comprehension of the subject. He was a man of abil- 
ity — of much more than u.sual aljility — and yet it was his char- 
acter more than his intellect that connnanded re.spect. The 



Address of Mr. Car)iiaik\ of 'Dniiisscc 69 

same ini^lu Iil- said of e\L-r\' man who is U'ul_\' ^rcat. 1 1 was 
true of \\'asliin.L;toii; il was true of Lee; it was true of Alfred. 
John I'\ RixivV had a character wliich made him lo\-e tlie ri*;lit; 
he had an intellect which enabled him to understand ruid 
defend it. 

He therefore could always conunand attention. While never 
a rhetorical, he was alwa\"S an intere.stinj;', speaker, for he l)rou.i;ht 
to the di.scussiou of every (|ue.sti(m that mo.st compelling of all 
faculties, earnestne.s.s — an evident sincerity and a .strong con- 
viction. His intellectual abilities would not have made liim 
what he wa.s if they had not been cou]:»led with hjve of truth 
and justice. I .saw' and ob.served this (quality in him when we 
were members of the Committee on Claims in the Hou.se of 
Repre.sentatives. No fal.se or unjust demand upon the public 
Treasury could evade his relentless questioning; but he was as 
eager to do justice to the claimant as he was to i:he Govern- 
ment, and every honest claim found in him an earnest champion. 

Before he entered public life he had won distinction as a 
lawyer in competition with a bar famed for legal lore and 
skilleil in forensic combat. There were perhaps many of tho.se 
whom he met in such combat who had, in the popular .sen.se of 
the term, a greater gift of eloquence than he. He was a match 
for the be.st of them, becau.se he was learned in the law, indus- 
trious in the preparation of his cau.se, and clear and logical in 
its presentation, and had that indescribable power of character 
which gives double power to the intellectual faculties. Those 
who knew him as a lawyer not only testify to his ability, btit to 
the fidelity with which he observed the ethics and honorable 
traditions oi. a noble profession. This was a part of his character 
as a gentleman, born and bred. 

From my first acquaintance with Johx F. Rixicv he seemed 
a man in feeble and failing health, who.se mental energies held 



JO Moiioriiil Adiircssis: Jo//// F/ai/k//'// A'/.vcy 

disease at Ijay. In the lattc-r years of his service this fatal 
disease made steady progess upon him. l)iit he chiii^- heroicalh- 
to his ix)st of duty, disres^arcUn^ the warnings of his physician.s 
and the ]ileadin^sof his friends that he nii.!L2:ht be faithful — faith- 
ful to the last — to his trust. He felt that the hi.yh honors his 
people had bestowed iqion him demantlecl of him a threat .sac- 
rifice in their .service. He made that .sacrifice to the uttermost — 
"greater love hath no man than this." 

John F. Rixi-v was not onl\- esteemed and resj^ected, but bv 
tho.se who knew him he was loved. He had that charm of 
manner which goes with a pure and upright .soul — the charm 
which, unconsciou.sly and without effort, sheds itself abroad, a 
charm which all men feel. ])ut which none can define. 

It is to me a nielanchol\- ])lea.sure to lay m\- humble wreath 
uj^on the coffin of .so grand a man. I hope the few but earnest 
words I speak may be of .some comfort to his family and his 
friends. Whenever such a life goes out there is the comforting 
thought that such a character and such a life can never be in 
vain. The pure .spirit of John F. Rixkv has passed beyond the 
Ixjunds of this mortal life; but he lives, not alone in the loving 
hearts of friends and family, but in the blessed influence he 
K-ft behind, which will liel]) to make in liis own image the li\-es 
of those wh(j come after him. 



